“You don’t need anyone’s advice.”
Kit made a strange sound in his throat. “I think I do.”
“Where are you?”
“Headed for the rodeo in Marble Falls. Brandon’s competing tonight.”
“He’s racking up great times so far.”
“Let’s hope he can keep it up. He wants to win that championship in the worst way.”
“My bet is on him. Kellie and I are planning to join you for the Las Vegas trip in December. So, what’s going on? What did you want to ask me?”
“How did the boss take it when you told him you were going to go undercover as Kellie’s husband?”
A long silence followed. “Don’t tell me you’re planning to do the same thing with this new case?”
Kit exhaled a sigh. “You’ve just answered my question.”
“No—forget what I said. Tell me about the case.”
“The wife of the guy who was found dead in his hotel room a week ago could be in serious trouble—someone broke into her house today. But having a surveillance crew watching her could scare off the bad guys. I want to catch them in the act. I’m thinking about posing as her cousin who is taking his retreat from the parish he serves to be with her for the next week.”
“A priest?”
“Yeah. I’ll wear a collar.”
Cy made a funny choking sound. “Have you told the widow what you’ve planned?”
“Nope. I wanted to run it by you first. If you think my plan holds water, then I’ll tell the captain. If he gives his approval, then I’ll talk to her.”
“What haven’t you told me yet?”
“Get ready for an earful.”
In the next few minutes Kit had revealed everything to his friend, including the fact that the widow had a sixteen-month-old daughter. When he’d finished, a loud whistle came from the other end of the line.
“Harold Park has been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list for years! You mean to tell me his wife didn’t have a clue?”
“As far as I can tell, not one.”
“Maybe she’s as big a con artist as he was.”
“No. When she saw the rap sheet, she went white as a ghost. I followed her to the bathroom and watched while she lost her lunch. That kind of reaction couldn’t have been faked.
“Seriously, Cy, I would have treated this like a normal case until Detective Carr called me about the burglary.
“If you could have seen her house, you’d know that whoever is after the money isn’t going to stop. My hunch is that the money he embezzled over the years has been laundered, but he kept four-hundred thousand for quick cash. Someone knew he had it and came to the house hoping to find it stashed there. But they only had that short window of time. I’m afraid they’ll be back for a more thorough search. That puts Mrs. Harris and her daughter at risk and changes the way I planned to go about solving the case.”
“I hear you. Knowing what I know now, your priest idea sounds inspired. It makes sense that a family member would stay for a while to help her in her time of grief. The collar will stop any gossip, especially if she’s attractive.”
Kit didn’t comment.
“Is she?”
“Is she what?”
“Attractive.”